Pro Wrestling Discussion

[XERO]

All I care about is that Jeff Hardy is champ.

The rest is obsolete.

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

Originally Posted by Benvenuto

All I care about is that Jeff Hardy is champ.

The rest is obsolete.

Agreed. Jeff Hardy being champion is pretty exciting. I think it had a good build up and I hope he holds onto the title at least until Wrestlemania.

[XERO]

Yeah, but I still think the 'pyro spiral' was a little 'WTF?'

[The Stryker]

Cena and SWAGGAH > Jeff Hardy

[XERO]

Yeah, Swagger.

I loved his voiceover work in The Cable Guy.

[Leo656]

Yo Stryker, good to see ya, it's been a while.

Point taken, and sure nothing's certain, but I just really feel that Vince's environment is just plain toxic to the performers and that the demands that come with a WWE contract have a lot to do with why a lot of these guys crack. But there isn't any magic pro wrestling locker room where guys don't get crippled and hooked on drugs, though, I will grant you that.

Believe it or not, what got me to love wrestling more than I have in years was going to a bunch of indy shows in my area (New Jersey). About a year and a half ago my fiancee and I started going to National Wrestling Superstars shows nearby, and I came away with a whole new respect for the sport and the wrestlers. We've gotten to have dinner and hang out with so many great people in the business and had so many great times that it's hard to really describe. And a lot of people I thought would be completely retarded were insanely down to earth, especially the women like Sunny and Francine. And the best part to come out of it was that a few months ago they extended an offer to join their new wrestling school. We're pretty shaky financially right now, but in a couple months we're hoping to start training together at the school once we get settled in our new place. So yeah, you could say going to indy shows rekindled my love of wrestling a bit...

Just out of curiosity, and me being too lazy to read entire pages of this thread, has anyone else met any wrestlers, famous or otherwise? Any cool stories? Mary and I have met Ric Flair, Lex Luger, Scott Hall, B. Brian Blair, Jim Brunzell, Jimmy Snuka, One Man Gang, Slick, Bob Backlund, Iron Sheik, Greg Valentine, Scott Hall, Tatanka, Jean-Pierre Laffite, Bret Hart, Bobby Heenan, Gene Okerlund, Howard Finkel, Giant Silva, Ax and Smash, Danny Doring, Ace Darling, Tito Santana, Rick Martel, Kevin Sullivan, Glacier, Marty Jannetty, Don Muraco, Dustin Rhodes, Vader, Bret Hart, Lanny Poffo, Mike Enos, Wayne Bloom, Ox Baker, Al Snow, Stevie Richards, Blue Meanie, Super Nova, Devon Storm, Sal Sincere, King Kong Bundy, Jake Roberts, Virgil, Justin Credible, Raven Rob Van Dam, The Warlord, The Barbarian, Shane Douglas, Francine, Sunny, Missy Hyatt, Talia Madison (Velvet Sky), Nikki Roxx (Roxxi), Wendi Richter, aaand I probably forgot a few. When I was younger I got to meet Bam Bam Bigelow and the Honky Tonk Man. Oh, and I gotta give much love to the NWS crew: Gavin/Mike Quest, Mikey Pacifica, Jumpin' Joey Janella, JD Smoothie, Nicky Oceans, Rhett Titus, and everyone who I can't remember right now.

Some of the best times were hanging out in the hotel bar with Marty Jannetty for a half hour, talking psychology with Shane Douglas, dinner with Demolition and Scott Hall copping a feel on my girlfriend (he also said we "smelled like dope" )

[ThirdMarioBro]

DAMN! That's a lot of people!

[The Stryker]

I have met just about every note-worthy indy star including sharing a house for 4 months with CM Punk back in his FIP days.

For big stars, I've trained with Dory Funk, Bubba and D-von. I drove Dusty Rhodes from the airport to a Smackdown taping in Tampa. That was interesting.

[Hero]

I've met Jake The Snake Roberts, Raven, CM Punk, and AJ Styles

Worked the same indy show as The Sandman, Mick Foley, and Shannon Moore in late 2005 (when I wrestled). Worked on the same show a couple of times as Hade Vansen too.

===HERO

[KROW]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Just out of curiosity, and me being too lazy to read entire pages of this thread, has anyone else met any wrestlers, famous or otherwise? Any cool stories?

Not as extensive as most, but I've met Marc Mero, Rena Mero (Sable), Bob Backlund, The Bushwhackers, Steve Corino, Bill Alfonso, Roddy Piper (briefly), Lex Luger (briefly), Tommy Dreamer, Shawn Michaels, Batista... I think that's it.

No cool stories, really. Just the usual hob-nob that fans normally get at signings and house shows. Nothing too close and personal.

[Leo656]

Very cool, thought there'd be more though. Stryker, I'm outta the loop, catch me up on your wrestling exploits? How long have you been in wrestling? Was it recently or did I just forget from back in the day?

I feel like an idiot for forgetting some very important people, like Terri Runnels, Traci Brooks, Diana Hart, Superstar Billy Graham, and Bruno Sammartino. And Corey Havok from NWS. Every single wrestler and personality we've met has been great, and a few really shocked us with how awesome they were. Mind if I spin a few yarns?

About 1 1/2 years ago we went to an indy nearby b/c Demolition (my fav tag team ever) and Traci Brooks were gonna be there. Average high school/VFW show, smallish crowd, but it went off the chain right away when ECW's Equalizer greeted us at the door, then we got to go right over to where Ax & Smash were sitting and talk to them uninterrupted for like a 1/2 hour (since none of the little John Cena anklebiters knew who they were). At intermission it was announced that all the wrestlers would be going to a diner nearby afterwards and that any fans with ticket stubs would be welcome to join them. Then we went over to Traci's table, and when she came out to sign she went right to me and Mary, greeting us with big hugs . We took some pics and she told us to hang out after the show so we could talk more. After the show we hung around with the whole crew while they busted the ring down. The atmosphere at NWS shows has always been very laid back and friendly whenever we've gone. The wrestlers all were more than happy to take pics and thanked us for being so excited during the show. Then we followed them to the diner, where surprisingly no other fans came. That was fine with us, and we even won a Dusty autographed 8x10 by default. We ended up sitting with Traci, Nikki Roxx, and Sal Sincere while we ate, which was awesome. I can't say enough good things about those three. Tom Brandi is a class act. Then we sat with Demolition and shared some stories from back in the day, laughing about stuff like the Blacktop Bully angle. Things wrapped around 1am, and by then we'd hung with pretty much the entire NWS crew, including the refs, announcers, and the boss Gino Moore. Ever since then they've all been great to us, making time to hang with us before, during, and after every show we've been to of theirs. They don't always do the diner thing, but when they do it's just indescribable, as a fan, to interact with the guys on a human level. And wrestlers apparently always have time for fans who treat them like normal people, at least that's how it was explained to me.

Since then almost all the big-name wrestlers I met were at NWS shows, the rest at the last two Legends of the Ring conventions here in NJ. Anybody read about that? The Scott Hall getting drunk and almost arrested thing? That was right around the corner from my house! And we just found out that Mary's cousin shared a limo with him on the way to the airport that day after all the chaos.

The last LotR in Oct. was amazing, especially afterwards at the bar. Kevin Sullivan gave me his bar stool so I could sit, Glacier told us all about the ins and out of the aborted "Blood Runs Cold" angle, I had a few laughs with Brutus Beefcake, and then we ended up hanging out with Marty Jannetty for like a half hour. Yes, indeed, I have a "so me and Marty were having a couple beers at the bar..." story. Mary actually got like a 20 sec. video clip on her camera of that. Very cool.

Meeting Raven was one of the biggest thrills ever. I dressed like Raven before he even was Raven, so he was always a huge fav of mine. Nicest guy ever. Signed everything we had, gave me a copy of his brand new, self-produced theme song "Burn In Hell", and seemed genuinely touched when I told him he was a huge inspiration to me. Then Mary called him a "sexy beast", to which he said "Oh, I know."

One more for now: I've always loved Shane Douglas, so meeting him at LotR was one of the VERY few times I was nervous for meeting someone. Biggest shock: he chews tobacco and kept spitting in a cup every two minutes.
He bemoaned how nobody can work or sell anymore, talked about ECW's booking philosophy (hardore guys on bottom, the best technical workers as Champ), and said he doesn't want any of his kids in wrestling. I told him I hope to break into wrestling, and how I've always kinda co-opted "The Franchise" nickname, and he actually told me "If you get into wrestling and get to a point where you feel you deserve to be called Franchise, I don't have any problem with that." Then he told me he puked in that hair match with Raven in TNA b/c he drank like 8 diet Red Bulls that day.

Sorry for the long post, honestly. It's all stuff I woulda posted when it was happening if I'd had 'net access.

[The Stryker]

I've been in it for 4 years, Actually...you know IN IT for a year and a half and I think Cena is the best wrestler in the United States today.

Yeah, I'm a oddball.

[Leo656]

I respect Cena for basically being the Hogan of this generation, and I think he's a good muscle/brawler type, I just think his character got too watered down for the kids and that the Protoplex was a much better finisher. But I don't have anything against him, really. He was in the right place at the right time for the right push, so who could begrudge him that?

After all, two of my favorites are Hogan (aka GOD) and Nash (aka GOD Ver. 2.0, Now With HAIR!), and I would never claim they were technical wizards.

Since it's quiet I'll tell s'more stories. I guess I'll start at the 2007 LotR convention, where we met Vader, Heenan, Bret, Luger, Ivory, Sunny, and more, but those were the big ones. Meeting Ivory was a dream come true for Mary. First off, she's gorgeous up close (actually, every wrestling female I've met was 10x cuter in person). And she's buff. Her line moved very slowly since she's such a sweetheart that she just has to talk extensively with every single fan she meets, apparently. But finally we got to meet her, get stuff signed, etc. We talked about wrestling, of course, and she said that WWF/WWE was a disgrace now and shouldn't even waste time on a women's division. She talked as if she's more or less retired, and glad to be. But she was very warm and friendly, and FUNNY! I dunno, I always expect wrestling women to be snotty and stuck up, but so far they've all been the opposite. She signed our 8x10 "To Sean & Mary: A Tag Team For Life" which was very sweet. She also told us how WWE's wardrobe Dept. used to cut up all her own personal outfits and not reimburse her. And that Regal always used to pour a bottle of water down her shorts (the ones with the little hole in back) right before her matches. At the NWS show later that night she helped Traci Brooks beat Nikki Roxx in a hardcore match that kicked much ass.

Nikki and Traci were at the same LotR that afternoon, and remembered us from the NWS show 2 weeks before( the Demolition show). We had a great time with them and Tom Brandi, looking at our pics and stuff from that show. Tom Brandi actually got scolded by Gino for breaking Kayfabe and being too nice in public.

Vader was on crutches and having a hard time moving around. His legs were in really bad shape, but he was in good spirits mostly. I was amazed how friendly he was given his rep, but he's a big teddy bear. When security tried to wrap up our convo for us, Vader protested "But I didn't get to say goodbye! C'mere darlin'," and gave Mary a big hug. Very cool.

Lex was in great shape, off 'roids but looking great. This was right before his spinal stroke or whatever. I always was iffy in my opinion of Luger, but now after meeting him I am a fan. He was candid to us about where he'd gone wrong in his life, and how he was using his newfound faith in God to get back on track (I'm agnostic, but hey, positive change is a good thing). He let Mary rub his abs through his shirt and her eyes damn near popped out. I'm a straight arrow, but I admit being curious, so I just kinda poked his ab region with my finger and, well, without sounding too gay just let me say that I didn't think having solid steel ab implants was possible. He seemed really really happy with his life at that moment, which is why I was so sad to hear about what happened to him afterwards.

Heenan could barely talk, but everyone wanted to be seen with The Brain. We told him how much we loved his stuff with Monsoon, and he thanked us. I told him how I hated him as a kid and later fell in love with his wit as a young adult, and he thanked us. Finally he just started exclaiming "Thank you! Thank you!" and waving his hands around.

Bret we didn't get to talk too very long b/c it was the end of the day, but he was just as nice as he was when I met him in '98. You could tell he wanted to talk with the fans more than security would allow. We mostly only had time to offer condolences about Benoit, and all the other recent hardships. Bret sighed and softly said "Yeah, it's been hard. It's just been hard." He seems really worn out, but it's still obvious how much he cares for his fans. We shared a laugh about something or other, then he had to leave.

More next time...

[Leo656]

OK, last night Mary helped me list all the wrestlers and personalities I've met, just for the record:

In no real order:

Jimmy Snuka, Jean-Pierre LaFitte, Bob Backlund, Samoan Afa, Devon Storm, Rick Martel, Slick, Tatanka, Giant Silva, Col. DeBeers, Viscera, ECW Zombie, Diana Hart, Mike Enos, Wayne Bloom, Lanny Poffo, Cowboy Bob Orton, Justin Credible, TNT, Danny Doring, Bruno Sammartino, Shane Douglas, Raven, Vader, Goldust, Bobby Heenan, Lex Luger, Bret Hart, Ax, Smash, Iron Sheik, Greg Valentine, Al Snow, Ox Baker, Tom Brandi, The Patriot, Bam Bam Bigelow, Honky Tonk Man, Tito Santana, Rob Van Dam, Brutus Beefcake, Hilbilly Cousin Luke, Hercules, Jake Roberts, Superstar Billy Graham, Nikolai Volkoff, Scott Hall, B. Brian Blair, Jim Brunzell, Marty Jannetty, Kevin Sullivan, Glacier, Jim Powers, Don Muraco, Ric Flair, Barbarian, Warlord, Stevie Richards, Blue Meanie, Kamala, ECW Equalizer, King Kong Bundy, One Man Gang, Howard Finkel, Mean Gene Okerlund, Virgil, Scotty Riggs, J.J. Dillon, Danny DeMento, Gavin Quest, Cory Havoc, Mikey Pacifica, Slayer, Joey Janella, Dan Rageous, J.D. Smoothie, Nicky Oceans, Super Nova, Royce Prophet, Traci Brooks, Ivory, Francine, Sunny, Nikki Roxx, Gorgeous George, Talia Madison/Velvet Sky, Terri Runnels, Wendi Richter, and Missy Hyatt.

WHEW!

I also have had brief, two-second run-ins with Sean Stasiak, Billy Gunn, Bradshaw, Scotty 2 Hotty and Buff Bagwell, but I don't really count those. Hopefully one of these days I can get some of the pics scanned. Especially the ones with Velvet Sky.

[XERO]

Dude, I'm surprised you haven't met Hogan yet.

Unless you're just holdin' back.

[The Stryker]

Wow, really good PPV.

Cena won and Both Hardys and Trips Lost.

[XERO]

I already knew that Orton was gonna win.

I just didn't expect Jeff to lose the title ALREADY. I DID expect Matt to turn heel, tough.

2 outta 3's not bad.

*sighs* Looks like the 'Hardy Party' is officially over.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by Benvenuto

Dude, I'm surprised you haven't met Hogan yet.

Unless you're just holdin' back.

He's the ONE person I haven't gotten to meet and it kills me...

When he did the red and yellow comeback in 2003, we went to WWF New York or whatever to meet him. Stood on line 8 hours in 98 degree heat, got sunburned, and just as we were next to go inside they cut the line off, slamming the door in my face. I tried to bribe security but no go. I could not believe my lousy luck. I was standing less than a foot away from my idol, seperated by only a plate glass window, and I couldn't shake his hand. Haven't gotten a chance since, either. Hopefully one day.

This weekend, though, we're going to an NWS show so I can collect my "silver medal": KEVIN NASH

At least, that's the plan.

[The Stryker]

Originally Posted by Benvenuto

*sighs* Looks like the 'Hardy Party' is officially over.

And not a moment too soon.

WWE has a perfect roster of champions right now IMO.

[ZariusTwo]

WWE were right to give Drug-Monkey Jeff Ledger a short-term reign. He can't be trusted long-term, that was proven in 2008, he probably works better chasing the title or holding it for a short while, as it works wonders with Edge in a heel role. Don't count Jeff out as champion again, but understand he practically painted himself into a corner with his habits.